Trouble on the Mountain
by totalStarkid
Summary: Percy, Thalia, Nico and the gods meet in a strange time period 1990! to read the Lightning Thief! Sorry guys, but, school you know. So, yeah. I can't continue this anymore. *True Sad Face*
1. Chapter 1

Heeeyyy! I read a lot of these and decided that I wanted to try it out for myself. So, here you go...

Chapter 1: I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher

Percy's POV

Okay, so, I turned sixteen, check! Defeated the Titan Lord, check, and am now going out with Annabeth, check. But what happened next was weird and quite unexpected. It happened the week after the Titan War. I remember as if it were only yesterday, but it actually was a week ago.

August 25, 2010-Percy POV

I opened my eyes as gallons of sunlight flooded in my cabin. I blinked twice before I remembered where I was. As I looked at my watch I noticed I was late for breakfast so, jumped out of bed, got dressed, grabbed the doorknob and _whoosh_! All I saw was a very faint pink color. Until of course, it faded and I had to blink multiple times before I could even vaguely recognize the place. But when I did, a shock went down my spine. No, an actual shock, I had landed on god sized Zeus's head in the middle of the Winter Solstice meeting. As I jumped down there was another faint pink flash as both Nico and Thalia appeared, both again on Zeus's head.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?" Zeus thundered as Thalia and Nico both jumped off his head, offering apologies.

"Ummm... I don't know, one minute I was in my cabin, about to go to the pavilion, then the next, I am getting electrocuted!" I mumbled.

"who are you? I can tell you are not mortal, for a shock from Zeus like that would have killed you, but you are not immortal either. For I know of all Immortals and you, are not one. So, you must be a demigod. But who are you? I have never seen you before." Athena questioned.

"My name is Percy Jackson. This is Thalia Grace and Nico DiAngelo. But, I met you before, we also, kind of saved the world last week, and why is Olympus not under construction? I thought-" I stopped talking as Thalia elbowed me.

"what?" I whispered to her.

"I think we went back in time! Look! They have no idea who we are." Thalia whispered back.

"Ummm... what year is it now?" I asked.

Zeus looked at me and said, "1990 of course! Why do you ask?"

"Oh no! We are from the year 2010!" Nico finally exclaimed. I had almost forgot he was here.

It was at that time that the pink glow once again filled the room and I felt something appear in my hands. As the glow faded, I saw that it was a book.

"Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Lightning Thief." Thalia read.

"...Hey! This book is about me!"

"Wow Percy! Annabeth is right! You are a Seaweed Brain!" Thalia exclaimed.

"Whatever."

"I propose we read this book. It is best not to tempt fate, well, the Fates." Athena put in.

"I agree." was the answer throughout the room.

So, Athena took the book from me and opened the cover.

**"I ACCIDENTALLY VAPORIZE MY PRE-ALGEBRA TEACHER"**

"How do you accidentally vaporize someone?" Nico asked, but everyone ignored him.

**Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood.**

"No one does," Thalia pointed out somberly

**If you're reading this because you think you might be one, my advice is: close this book right now. Believe what-ever lie your mom or dad told you about your birth, and try to lead a normal life.**

"How can that help?" Nico questioned

"It would mask their scent a bit." Athena replied

"Oh"

**Being a half-blood is dangerous. It's scary. Most of the time, it gets you killed in painful, nasty ways.**

"That's true, sad, but true" I said.

**If you're a normal kid, reading this because you think it's fiction, great. Read on. I envy you for being able to believe that none of this ever happened.**

"I envy them too. This would be pretty cool, if it weren't happening to you." Thalia expressed

**But if you recognize yourself in these pages-if you feel something stirring inside-stop reading immediately. You might be one of us. And once you know that, it's only a mat-ter of time before they sense it too, and they'll come for you.**

"Such optimism Percy!" Nico said

**Don't say I didn't warn you.**

"You didn't!" Apollo exclaimed

"Shut up!" Artemis replied

**My name is Percy Jackson.**

"No way!"

**I'm twelve years old. Until a few months ago, I was a boarding student at Yancy Academy, a private school for troubled kids in upstate New York.**

**Am I a troubled kid?**

"Definitely!" Ares said.

It was then that he got 3 icy glares shot at him.

**Yeah. You could say that.**

"See! You even said it!" Ares defended.

**I could start at any point in my short miserable life to prove it, but things really started going bad last May, when our sixth-grade class took a field trip to Manhattan- twenty-eight mental-case kids and two teachers on a yellow school bus, heading to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to look at ancient Greek and Roman stuff.**

"That is a pretty sweet field trip!" Hermes shouted

**I know-it sounds like torture. Most Yancy field trips were.**

"Didn't I just say the opposite?"

**But Mr. Brunner, our Latin teacher, was leading this trip, so I had hopes.**

**Mr. Brunner was this middle-aged guy in a motorized wheelchair. He had thinning hair and a scruffy beard and a frayed tweed jacket, which always smelled like coffee. You wouldn't think he'd be cool, but he told stories and jokes and let us play games in class. He also had this awesome collection of Roman armor and weapons, so he was the only teacher whose class didn't put me to sleep.**

"Hey! That sounds just like Chiron!" Apollo said

"It probably is, but why is he posing as this Peter kid's Latin teacher?" Dionysus questioned

**I hoped the trip would be okay. At least, I hoped that for once I wouldn't get in trouble.**

"But that's boring!" Ares claimed

**Boy, was I wrong.**

"Oh good! I thought this was gonna be one of those and nothing happened moments like the entire book of Catching Fire."

**See, bad things happen to me on field trips. Like at my fifth-grade school, when we went to the Saratoga battlefield, I had this accident with a Revolutionary War cannon. I wasn't aiming for the school bus, but of course I got expelled anyway.**

"Epic!"

**And before that, at my fourth-grade school, when we took a behind- the-scenes tour of the Marine World shark pool, I sort of hit the wrong lever on the catwalk and our class took an unplanned swim.**

"I like this kid! He is even more disastrous than me!" Ares exclaimed.

"And you said you saved the world? Seems like you would only destroy it with a record like that!" Athena said.

**And the time before that... Well, you get the idea. This trip, I was determined to be good.**

"Awwww! But that's not entertaining!" Said guess who (if you can't

**All the way into the city, I put up with Nancy Bobofit, the freckly, redheaded kleptomaniac girl, hitting my best friend Grover in the back of the head with chunks of peanut butter-and-ketchup sandwich.**

"Rude!"

"No one messes with Grover and get away with it!" Thalia said with a scowl

"Don't worry, she gets what's coming to her in the end." I said with a grin.

**Grover was an easy target. He was scrawny. He cried when he got frustrated. He must've been held back several grades, because he was the only sixth grader with acne and the start of a wispy beard on his chin. On top of all that, he was crippled. He had a note excusing him from PE for the rest of his life because he had some kind of muscular disease in his legs. He walked funny, like every step hurt him,**

"You are so nice to your friends Perce!" Nico expressed to me.

"Hey! I didn't know then..."

**but don't let that fool you. You should've seen him run when it was enchilada day in the cafeteria.**

"Same old Grover!"

**Anyway, Nancy Bobofit was throwing wads of sandwich that stuck in his curly brown hair, and she knew I couldn't do anything back to her because I was already on probation. The headmaster had threatened me with death by in-school suspension if anything bad, embarrassing, or even mildly entertaining happened on this trip.**

"Darn! Th-"

"Okay! We know, it's boring, not entertaining and all of the above, stop going on about it!" Zeus thundered.

**"I'm going to kill her, " I mumbled.**

**Grover tried to calm me down. "It's okay. I like peanut butter. "**

**He dodged another piece of Nancy's lunch.**

**"That's it. " I started to get up, but Grover pulled me back to my seat.**

**"You're already on probation, " he reminded me. "You know who'll get blamed if anything happens. "**

**Looking back on it, I wish I'd decked Nancy Bobofit right then and there. In-school suspension would've been nothing compared to the mess I was about to get myself into.**

"Oh Perce! You can never go anywhere without something happening!" Thalia exclaimed

"Okay, now, time for some explanations!" Hephaestus said.

"Who are you?"


	2. Chapter 2

So, I guess I will continue with this story. …...

Poseidon's POV

I am quite confused now. That Percy kid sort of looks and acts like me. But, the oath. Did I break it? Wait! Let's have a math class! This boy says he is from the year 2010 right? So, he looks 16 now. 2010 minus 16 equals 1994. So, there is no way to know who he is unless he tells us. But if he truly is my son as I see many people here are guessing with all the looks being thrown at me, it is unlikely that he will tell us. Wait! If he is my son, that means that prophecy must have already come true by the year 2010! So, now I just have to hope he is not my son. Although, it is very obvious that he is my son. I can tell Athena has pieced it all together. The hair, eyes, the way that girl Thalia said that his nickname is Seaweed Brain. Ok, so Percy is my son. That much has been shown. But what about the other two, Nico and Thalia. Thalia, she is very like Zeus, but that is not possible. Is it? And Nico. Nico is another story, by looking at him, you would think Hades or Ares the first second. But, he acts more like Apollo or Hermes. This is all to confusing!

Athena's POV

So, it is plain to see that Percy is Poseidon's son, and I have known that Zeus had a daughter last month, named Thalia, but that would make her 20 "now". She looks no older than 16. And if Percy is 16, that means the prophecy has come true in 2010. He did mention saving the world... But, if that is Zeus's Thalia, then she should have been the one of the prophecy. She also, keeps glancing at Artemis. I have a feeling that before Thalia could turn 16, she joined the Hunters, and judging by the ring around her head (A.N. I can't remember what it's called) she was made lieutenant. I have also noticed that Nico has been looking at Hades, while also slowly inching away from him. Could it be possible that the oath is either abandoned or they just all broke it? Something strange is going on here, and I intend to find out!

Oh! They are going to explain things now, better stop trying to figure it all out now, and get more clues from what they say.

Nico POV

I looked over and saw both Athena and Poseidon thinking to themselves and Percy and Thalia whispering to each other. Hephaestus's out burst surprised all of us. I decided that it might be best to find out what Percy and Thalia were saying but it was at that time they stopped talking and Percy said

"Okay! We decided that we will tell you who Thalia and Nico are seeing as how, they won't be mentioned in this book but you will find out about me, well, when book me does."

Thalia stood up and said, "Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus, lieutenant of Artemis."

At that time there was much argument, which was expected, but eventually it died down when Zeus deciding that he was done pointed out that we still don't know who I am and I noticed how he really just wanted to get the attention of him. Well, if my announcment doesn't do the trick, I don't know what will.

"My name is Nico DiAngelo. Son of... Hades."

It was then that everyone turned on my father and started arguing. But, I could see my dad needed help, and I was in a strangely kind mood, so I decided to help him.

"Hades never broke the oath! I really should be 70 years old, but when the oath was taken, my dad decided that it would not be safe for me and my sister so he had Alecto take us, wipe our memories in the Lethe, and put us in the Lotus Casino. So, we aged differently. But, my sister, Bianca died three years ago." I explained trying to keep my voice in check at the end.

I looked up and saw that the gods had stopped talking and were all looking at me. Most of them with compassion, but some with surprise written clear on their face. It took me a while to muster up the courage to look at my father though. When I finally did, I noticed that he was looking straight at me with an unreadable expression. Then, he stood up, cleared his throat, walked over to me, and to my great surprise, wrapped me in a big hug. It was so out of character that no one said anything, Aphrodite didn't squeal, everyone just stared. I was almost scared that something would happen and he would end up screaming at me for something that I did, that would be much more normal. I guess this Hades was a much gentler person, wait no, the gods look as confused as me. What is going on?


	3. Chapter 3

Third chapter is here already! YAY!

* * *

><p>Artemis POV<p>

Once the talking all died down, I took the book from Athena claiming that it was my turn to read. I then began,

**Mr. Brunner led the museum tour.**

**He rode up front in his wheelchair, guiding us through the big echoey galleries, past marble statues and glass cases full of really old black-and-orange pottery.**

It blew my mind that this stuff had survived for two thousand, three thousand years.

"Oh it was way longer than that"

**He gathered us around a thirteen-foot-tall stone column with a big sphinx on the top, and started telling us how it was a grave marker, a stele, for a girl about our age. He told us about the carvings on the sides. I was trying to listen to what he had to say, because it was kind of interesting, but everybody around me was talking, and every time I told them to shut up, the other teacher chaperone, Mrs. Dodds, would give me the evil eye.  
><strong>"Strange."

**Mrs. Dodds was this little math teacher from Georgia who always wore a black leather jacket, even though she was fifty years old. She looked mean enough to ride a Harley right into your locker. She had come to Yancy halfway through the year, when our last math teacher had a nervous breakdown.  
><strong>"I wonder how!"**  
>From her first day, Mrs. Dodds loved Nancy Bobofit and figured I <strong>**was devil spawn. She would point her crooked finger at me and say, "Now, honey, " real sweet, and I knew I was going to get after-school detention for a month.**

"Such a nice teacher!"

One time, after she'd made me erase answers out of old math workbooks until midnight, I told Grover I didn't think Mrs. Dodds was human. He looked at me, real serious, and said, "You're absolutely right. "

"Well, I guess, since she's not human, she must be a monster!"**  
>Mr. Brunner kept talking about Greek funeral art.<strong>

**Finally, Nancy Bobofit snickered something about the naked guy on the stele, and I turned around and said, "Will you shut up?"**

**It came out louder than I meant it to.  
><strong>**The whole group laughed. Mr. Brunner stopped his story.  
>"Mr. Jackson, " he said, "did you have a comment?"<br>My face was totally red. I said, "No, sir. "  
>Mr. Brunner pointed to one of the pictures on the stele. "Perhaps you'll tell us what this picture represents?"<br>I looked at the carving, and felt a flush of relief, because I actually recognized it. "That's Kronos eating his kids, right?"**

"Out of all the other carvings, that I know are in that museum, he had to pick that one?"

**"Yes, " Mr. Brunner said, obviously not satisfied. "And he did this because ... **

**"Well... " I racked my brain to remember. "Kronos was the king god, and-"**

"Really Percy? God?" Apollo exclaimed.

**"God?" Mr. Brunner asked.  
>"Titan, " I corrected myself. "And ... He didn't trust his kids, who were the gods. So, um, Kronos ate them, right? But his wife hid baby Zeus, and gave Kronos a rock to eat instead. And later, when Zeus grew up, he tricked his dad, Kronos, into barfing up his brothers and sisters-"<br>"Eeew!" said one of the girls behind me.**

"Yeah, well you weren't there!" Hermes shouted.

"Neither were you!" Demeter replied.

"Still, you guys complain about it all the time, it is almost as if I was!" Hermes remarked.

**"-and so there was this big fight between the gods and the Titans, " I continued, "and the gods won. "**

"Yeah! 'Cuz we're awesome!" Ares bellowed.

**Some snickers from the group.**

"Why would they snicker? It was the correct answer!" Athena asked.

**Behind me, Nancy Bobofit mumbled to a friend, "Like we're going to use this in real life. Like it's going to say on our job applications, 'Please explain why Kronos ate his kids. '"**

"Hey, you never know! You might be applying for a job as a muesum tour guide! Or, Latin teacher like "Mr. Brunner"!" Hermes supplied.

**"And why, Mr. Jackson, " Brunner said, "to paraphrase Miss Bobofit's excellent question, does this matter in real life?"**

"Ooooohhhhh!" Apollo said in that voice used by children when someone was called to the principal's office, "You got in trouble!"

"Why must you act like a little kid?" I asked.

"It's my job, lil' sis!"

"How many times must we go over this! I AM OLDER THAN YOU!" I replied angrily.

"Okay! That's enough! Please continue with the story Artemis!" Zeus interrupted.

Of course I did.

**"Busted, " Grover muttered.  
>"Shut up, " Nancy hissed, her face even brighter red than her hair.<br>At least Nancy got packed, too. Mr. Brunner was the only one who ever caught her saying anything wrong. He had radar ears.**

"Okay! Who else in this room wants radar ears?" Hermes bursted.

"You are a god, you can hear anything anyway!"

"Oh yeah."

**I thought about his question, and shrugged. "I don't know, sir. "  
>"I see. " Mr. Brunner looked disappointed. "Well, half credit, Mr. Jackson. Zeus did indeed feed Kronos a mixture of mustard and wine, which made him disgorge his other five children, who, of course, being immortal gods, had been living and growing up completely undigested in the Titan's stomach. The gods defeated their father, sliced him to pieces with his own scythe, and scattered his remains in Tartarus, the darkest part of the Underworld. On that happy note, it's time for lunch. Mrs. Dodds, would you lead us back outside?"<strong>

"You know, to many other people that wouldn't be a happy note, but in our world, it really is!"

**The class drifted off, the girls holding their stomachs, the guys pushing each other arou****nd and acting like **_**doofuses.**_

"When do boys not act like doofuses?" I questioned.

**Grover and I were about to follow when Mr. Brunner said, "Mr. Jackson. "  
>I knew that was coming.<strong>  
>"Oh my me's! Are you psychic?" Apollo squeeled.<p>

I**told Grover to keep going. Then I turned toward Mr. Brunner. "Sir?"**

** Mr. Brunner had this look that wouldn't let you go- intense brown eyes that could've been a thousand years old and had seen everything.  
><strong>"I don't think everything just most things." Dionysus said

**"You must learn the answer to my question, " Mr. Brunner told me.**

**"About the Titans?"**

"You already answered that! Why would you think he meant that?"

"I don't know. I was twelve!"

**"About real life. And how your studies apply to it. "  
>"Oh. "<br>"What you learn from me, " he said, "is vitally impor-tant. I expect you to treat it as such. I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson. "  
>I wanted to get angry, this guy pushed me so hard.<br>I mean, sure, it was kind of cool on tournament days, when he dressed up in a suit of Roman armor and shouted: "What ho!'" and challenged us, sword-point against chalk, to run to the board and name every Greek and Roman per-son who had ever lived, and their mother, and what god they worshipped. **

"Now, that is a cool class!"

**But Mr. Brunner expected me to be as good as everybody else, despite the fact that I have dyslexia and attention deficit disorder and I had never made above a C- in my life. No-he didn't expect me to be as good; he expected me to be better. And I just couldn't learn all those names and facts, much less spell them correctly.  
>I mumbled something about trying harder, while Mr. Brunner took one long sad look at the stele, like he'd been at this girl's funeral.<strong>

"It is quite possible that he was. If he is Chiron. We have all established that this is Chiron right?" Dionysus drawled.

There was a consecutive yes throughout the room and I continued to read,

**He told me to go outside and eat my lunch.**

**The class gathered on the front steps of the museum, where we could watch the foot traffic along Fifth Avenue.**

**Overhead, a huge storm was brewing, with clouds blacker than I'd ever seen over the city. I figured maybe it was global warming or something, because the weather all across New York state had been weird since Christmas. We'd had massive snow storms, flooding, wildfires from lightning strikes. I wouldn't have been surprised if this was a hurricane blowing in.**

Everyone then looked at Zeus and Poseidon, "What?" was the response from the both of them, "this hasn't happened yet!"

**Nobody else seemed to notice. Some of the guys were pelting pigeons with Lunchables crackers. Nancy Bobofit was trying to pickpocket something from a lady's purse, and, of course, Mrs. Dodds wasn't seeing a thing.**

"Of course! Why would she?" Thalia said with a sneer.

**Grover and I sat on the edge of the fountain, away from the others. We thought that maybe if we did that, everybody wouldn't know we were from that school-the school for loser freaks who couldn't make it elsewhere.**

"Did it work?" Nico asked.

"No." Percy replied shortly.

**"Detention?" Grover asked.**

**"Nah, " I said. "Not from Brunner. I just wish he'd lay off me sometimes. I mean-I'm not a genius. "**

"No one said you were Perce." Thalia said lightening up the mood.

**Grover didn't say anything for a while. Then, when I thought he was going to give me some deep philosophical comment to make me feel better, he said, "Can I have your apple?"**

"Only Grover! Only Grover!" Thalia exclaimed.

**I didn't have much of an appetite, so I let him take it.**

"Such a good friend Percy!" Apollo said.

**I watched the stream of cabs going down Fifth Avenue, and thought about my mom's apartment, only a little ways uptown from where we sat. I hadn't seen her since Christmas. I wanted so bad to jump in a taxi and head home. She'd hug me and be glad to see me, but she'd be disappointed, too. She'd send me right back to Yancy, remind me that I had to try harder, even if this was my sixth school in six years and I was probably going to be kicked out again. I wouldn't be able to stand that sad look she'd give me.**

"AWWWWWWW!" said all the goddesses in the room.

Percy's face turned the same color red as Nancy Bobofit's hair and I took that as a sign to continue reading,

**Mr. Brunner parked his wheelchair at the base of the handicapped ramp. He ate celery while he read a paperback novel. A red umbrella stuck up from the back of his chair, making it look like a motorized cafe table.**

"Talk about traveling in style!"

"I know right!"

**I was about to unwrap my sandwich when Nancy Bobofit appeared in front of me with her ugly friends-I guess she'd gotten tired of stealing from the tourists-and dumped her half-eaten lunch in Grover's lap.**

"Ooooooohhh! She shouldn't have done that!" Thalia said clenching her fists.

**"Oops. " She grinned at me with her crooked teeth. Her freckles were orange, as if somebody had spray- painted her face with liquid Cheetos.  
>I tried to stay cool. The school counselor had told me a million times, "Count to ten, get control of your temper. " But I was so mad my mind went blank. A wave roared in my ears.<strong>

"Really? A wave?" Everyone looked at Poseidon, some seemed as if they just noticed the resemblances.

**I don't remember touching her, but the next thing I knew, Nancy was sitting on her butt in the fountain, screaming, "Percy pushed me!"**

**Mrs. Dodds materialized next to us.  
>Some of the kids were whispering: "Did you see-"<br>"-the water-"  
>"-like it grabbed her-"<strong>

"POSEIDON! You broke the oath?"

"I don't know! It didn't happen yet. Look Percy must have been born in 1994! It's only 1990 now! Besides, what the Fates have said is set in stone. You cannot change their minds!" Poseidon retorted.

"Fine. But we are not done discussing this!"

**I didn't know what they were talking about. All I knew was that I was in trouble again.**

**As soon as Mrs. Dodds was sure poor little Nancy was okay, promising to get her a new shirt at the museum gift shop, etc. , etc. , Mrs. Dodds turned on me. There was a tri-umphant fire in her eyes, as if I'd done something she'd been waiting for all semester. "Now, honey-"**

**"I know, " I grumbled. "A month erasing workbooks. "  
>That wasn't the right thing to say.<strong>

"No, it wasn't!"

**"Come with me, " Mrs. Dodds said.**

**"Wait!" Grover yelped. "It was me. I pushed her. "  
>I stared at him, stunned. I couldn't believe he was trying to cover for me. Mrs. Dodds scared Grover to death.<strong>

"He is such a good friend!"

**She glared at him so hard his whiskery chin trembled.  
>"I don't think so, Mr. Underwood, " she said.<strong>

**"But-"  
>"You-will-stay-here. "<strong>

**Grover looked at me desperately.**

"You know, this may be random, but I think that Grover is a saytr."

"Wow! You only noticed that now?"

"Hey! I don't analyze every detail!"

**"It's okay, man, " I told him. "Thanks for trying. "  
>"Honey, " Mrs. Dodds barked at me. "Now. "<br>Nancy Bobofit smirked.**

"She deserves a good smack in the face!*"

**I gave her my deluxe I'll-kill-you-later stare. Then I turned to face Mrs. Dodds, but she wasn't there. She was standing at the museum entrance, way at the top of the steps, gesturing impatiently at me to come on.**

"I don't like the sound of this!"

**How'd she get there so fast?**

**I have moments like that a lot, when my brain falls asleep or something, and the next thing I know I've missed something, as if a puzzle piece fell out of the universe and left me staring at the blank place behind it. The school counselor told me this was part of the ADHD, my brain misinterpreting things.**

"Not this time!"

**I wasn't so sure.**

**I went after Mrs. Dodds.**

**Halfway up the steps, I glanced back at Grover. He was looking pale, cutting his eyes between me and Mr. Brunner, like he wanted Mr. Brunner to notice what was going on, but Mr. Brunner was absorbed in his novel.**

"Irresponsible!"

**I looked back up. Mrs. Dodds had disappeared again. She was now inside the building, at the end of the entrance hall.  
>Okay, I thought. She's going to make me buy a new shirt for Nancy at the gift shop.<strong>

"Doubt it!"

"Yeah, I think that this monster has something else on its mind. Like one more dead demigod."

That one got at least three glares and one weary look.

**But apparently that wasn't the plan.  
>I followed her deeper into the museum. When I finally caught up to her, we were back in the Greek and Roman section.<strong>

**Except for us, the gallery was empty.  
>Mrs. Dodds stood with her arms crossed in front of a big marble frieze of the Greek gods. She was making this weird noise in her throat, like growling.<br>Even without the noise, I would've been nervous. It's weird being alone with a teacher, especially Mrs. Dodds. Something about the way she looked at the frieze, as if she wanted to pulverize it...**

**"You've been giving us problems, honey, " she said.**

**I did the safe thing. I said, "Yes, ma'am. "**

**She tugged on the cuffs of her leather jacket. "Did you really think you would get away with it?"  
>The look in her eyes was beyond mad. It was evil.<strong>

**She's a teacher, I thought nervously. It's not like she's going to hurt me.**

"In normal conditions no, but this is not a normal condition." Poseidon said softly and slowly.

**I said, "I'll-I'll try harder, ma'am. "**

Thunder shook the building.

Everyone stared accusingly at Zeus who held up his hands in a innocent manner.

**"We are not fools, Percy Jackson, " Mrs. Dodds said. "It was only a matter of time before we found you out. Confess, and you will suffer less pain. "  
>I didn't know what she was talking about.<strong>

**All I could think of was that the teachers must've found the illegal stash of candy I'd been selling out of my dorm room. Or maybe they'd realized I got my essay on Tom Sawyer from the Internet without ever reading the book and now they were going to take away my grade. Or worse, they were going to make me read the book.**

"Wow Perce! Only you!"

**"Well?" she demanded.**

"Ma'am, I don't... "  
>"Your time is up, " she hissed.<p>

**Then the weirdest thing happened. Her eyes began to glow like barbecue coals. Her fingers stretched, turning into talons. Her jacket melted into large, leathery wings. She wasn't human. She was a shriveled hag with bat wings and claws and a mouth full of yellow fangs, and she was about to slice me to ribbons.**

"A FURY!" Poseidon bellowed, "Who sent a Fury after my (soon to be) son?"

"We don't know! It hasn't happened yet. Calm down." Hestia said softly, I had almost forgotten she was there.

You could see Poseidon visibly calm down and I picked up the book again,

**Then things got even stranger.**

**Mr. Brunner, who'd been out in front of the museum a minute before, wheeled his chair into the doorway of the gallery, holding a pen in his hand.**

**"What ho, Percy!" he shouted, and tossed the pen through the air.  
>Mrs. Dodds lunged at me.<strong>

**With a yelp, I dodged and felt talons slash the air next to my ear. I snatched the ballpoint pen out of the air, but when it hit my hand, it wasn't a pen anymore. It was a sword-Mr. Brunner's bronze sword, which he always used on tournament day.**

**Mrs. Dodds spun toward me with a murderous look in her eyes.**

**My knees were jelly. My hands were shaking so bad I almost dropped the sword.**

**She snarled, "Die, honey!"  
>And she flew straight at me.<strong>

**Absolute terror ran through my body. I did the only thing that came naturally: I swung the sword.**

**The metal blade hit her shoulder and passed clean through her body as if she were made of water. Hisss!**

"You really are Kelp Head's son." Athena remarked.

**Mrs. Dodds was a sand castle in a power fan. She exploded into yellow powder, vaporized on the spot, leaving nothing but the smell of sulfur and a dying screech and a chill of evil in the air, as if those two glowing red eyes were still watching me.**

"Creepy thought."

**I was alone.  
>There was a ballpoint pen in my hand.<br>Mr. Brunner wasn't there. Nobody was there but me.  
>My hands were still trembling. My lunch must've been contaminated with magic mushrooms or something.<strong>

"Or something?"

"Yes, or something!"

**Had I imagined the whole thing?  
>I went back outside.<br>It had started to rain.**

**Grover was sitting by the fountain, a museum map tented over his head. Nancy Bobofit was still standing there, soaked from her swim in the fountain, grumbling to her ugly friends. When she saw me, she said, "I hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your butt. "**

"Who?" Said Poseidon

**I said, "Who?"**  
>"Like father, like son!"<br>**"Our teacher. Duh!"**  
><strong> I blinked. We had no teacher named Mrs. Kerr. I asked Nancy what she was talking about.<strong>

**She just rolled her eyes and turned away.**

**I asked Grover where Mrs. Dodds was.**

**He said, "Who?"  
>But he paused first, and he wouldn't look at me, so I thought he was messing with me.<strong>

"Yeah, saytrs, they can't lie." Dionysus stated.

"I should give them lessons." Hermes supplied.

**"Not funny, man, " I told him. "This is serious. "**

**Thunder boomed overhead.**

**I saw Mr. Brunner sitting under his red umbrella, read-ing his book, as if he'd never moved.**

**I went over to him.**

**He looked up, a little distracted. "Ah, that would be my pen. Please bring your own writing utensil in the future, Mr. Jackson. "**

**I handed Mr. Brunner his pen. I hadn't even realized I was still holding it.  
>"Sir, " I said, "where's Mrs. Dodds?"<br>He stared at me blankly. "Who?"  
>"The other chaperone. Mrs. Dodds. The pre-algebra teacher. "<strong>

"Has the whole world gone mad?" Nico screamed. Everyone gave him a strange look and I continued on reading.

**He frowned and sat forward, looking mildly concerned. "Percy, there is no Mrs. Dodds on this trip. As far as I know, there has never been a Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy. Are you feeling all right?"**

"Or maybe Chiron can give them the lessons for me, my schedule probably wont allow it."

* * *

><p>* Who else knows someone like that? I know seven!<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

Ok. Super sorry about the failure on updating! I swear I haven't died. Well, not since December.

(Hi Giuliette!)

_Voldemort is going down!_

_It's going to be totally awesome_

_Supermegafoxyawesomehot_

all explain what I was doing, or watching, that distracted me from this, actually, the whole fandom. But I am back, kinda, oh well, here we go!

* * *

><p>Apollo's POV<p>

"I guess it's my turn!" I exclaimed.

**Chapter 2 THREE OLD LADIES KNIT THE SOCKS OF DEATH  
>"<strong>Oh. That doesn't sound good at all!"Artemis said.**  
>I was used to the occasional weird experience, but usually they were over quickly. This twenty- fourseven hallucination **

"Well, it's not REALLY a hallucination." Thalia argued.

"Well, I didn't know that yet!" Percy responded.

**was more than I could handle. For the rest of the school year, the entire campus seemed to be playing some kind of trick on me. The students acted as if they were completely and totally convinced that Mrs. Kerr-a perky blond woman whom I'd never seen in my life until she got on our bus at the end of the field trip-had been our pre-algebra teacher since Christmas.  
>"<strong>Of course they were convinced. The Mist never fails." Zeus said.**  
>Every so often I would spring a Mrs. Dodds reference on somebody, just to see if I could trip them up, but they would stare at me like I was psycho.<br>"**So, they would look at you like they normally would." Nico joked

"Shut up!" Percy scream-whispered (like those two boys in my class during the LA state tests this year)

**It got so I almost believed them-Mrs. Dodds had never existed.  
>Almost.<strong>

"Of course, you couldn't just believe them? Going along with things really helps! Especially in our world." Hermes whined.

**But Grover couldn't fool me. **

"Duh! Satyrs can't lie. Well, I know Grover can't at least!" Thalia said to book Percy.

**When I mentioned the name Dodds to him, he would hesitate, then claim she didn't exist. But I knew he was lying.**

Something was going on. Something had happened at the museum.  
>"<p>

Nooooooooo..." Nico droned looking bored.

**I didn't have much time to think about it during the days, but at night, visions of Mrs. Dodds with talons and leathery wings would wake me up in a cold sweat.  
>"<strong>Expected. She is truly terrifying!" Hades explained popping some gum in his mouth.**  
>The freak weather continued, which didn't help my mood. One night, a thunderstorm blew out the windows in my dorm room. A few days later, the biggest tornado ever spotted in the Hudson Valley touched down only fifty miles from Yancy Academy. <strong>

Everyone looked to Poseidon and Zeus who said in unison,

"IT'S IN THE FUTURE! WE DON'T KNOW!"

**One of the current events we studied in social studies class was the unusual number of small planes that had gone down in sudden squalls in the Atlantic that year.  
><strong>Everyone struggled to not turn and stare at the two gods who erupted not even a minute ago.**  
>I started feeling cranky and irritable most of the time. My grades slipped from Ds to Fs. <strong>

Cue Athena glaring at Percy, Poseidon glaring at Athena, Percy looking at Poseidon glaring at Athena glaring at him. _Wow. It's a chain! _Is what the more clueless people in the room thought.

**I got into more fights with Nancy Bobofit and her friends. I was sent out into the hallway in almost every class.**

"Wasn't that happening anyway?"

"No."

**Finally, when our English teacher, Mr. Nicoll, asked me for the millionth time why I was too lazy to study for spelling tests, I snapped. I called him an old sot. I wasn't even sure what it meant, but it sounded good.  
>"<strong>Well, isn't someone rude!" Demeter exclaimed

"Hey, I was under a lot of pressure!" Percy protested.**  
>The headmaster sent my mom a letter the following week, making it official: I would not be invited back next year to Yancy Academy.<br>"**Awwwwwwww..."**  
>Fine, I told myself. Just fine.<strong>

I was homesick.

Awwwwwwww... was said again.

Wow. That really is annoying!**  
>I wanted to be with my mom in our little apartment on the Upper East Side, even if I had to go to public school and put up with my obnoxious stepfather and his stupid poker parties.<br>**Awwwww-no that wasn't said.

"You shouldn't have to deal with that."

"Eh. I'm used to it."

**And yet... There were things I'd miss at Yancy. The view of the woods out my dorm window, the Hudson River in the distance, the smell of pine trees. I'd miss Grover, who'd been a good friend, even if he was a little strange. I worried how he'd survive next year without me.**

"You really are a good friend/guy Percy." Thalia mused (found another word to use!)

"Aw. Thanks..."

**I'd miss Latin class, too-Mr. Brunner's crazy tourna-ment days and his faith that I could do well. As exam week got closer, Latin was the only test I studied for. I hadn't forgotten what Mr. Brunner had told me about this subject being life-and-death for me. I wasn't sure why, but I'd started to believe him.  
>"<strong>Good, you finally believe something going on around you. You're like Harry (Darren) not believing that everyone could think he is the coolest kid in the whole world and that they all know the name of Harry (Something) Potter! (AN had to have at least one Starkid refrence!)"

Everyone stared at Thalia after that.

"What? It's my fault that our camps always have wifi? I like youtube."**  
>The evening before my final, I got so frustrated I threw the Cambridge Guide to Greek Mythology across my dorm room. <strong>

"How could that help?" Aphrodite questioned

"I don't know. I wanted to let off some steam I guess."

**Words had started swimming off the page, circling my head, the letters doing one- eighties as if they were riding skateboards. **

"Yeah, that's annoying." Nico admitted

**There was no way I was going to remember the difference between Chiron and Charon, or Polydictes and Polydeuces. And conjugating those Latin verbs? Forget it.  
><strong>"Awww. Poor Peter can't conjugate verbs." Dionysus jeered (Hmm. I guess I spelt it right)**  
>I paced the room, feeling like ants were crawling around inside my shirt.<br>"**Ewwww!"Aphrodite commented disgusted.**  
>I remembered Mr. Brunner's serious expression, his thousand-year-old eyes. I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson.<strong>

"Wow. Look at him. Being so sentimental. He's like a girl (AN You take your foot. Your little foot. And, I am a slow typer, so I can't keep up with the song! I have been waiting all these years to dance again! I hope someone gets these references, or else I will feel really stupid. Oh well!)" Ares said with a sneer.

People literally had to hold Poseidon back from somehow finding a way to kill Ares. Maybe give him the Kronos treatment.

**I took a deep breath. I picked up the mythology book.  
>I'd never asked a teacher for help before. <strong>

"Obviously."

More glares around.

**Maybe if I talked to Mr. Brunner, he could give me some pointers. At least I could apologize for the big fat F I was about to score on his exam. I didn't want to leave Yancy Academy with him thinking I hadn't tried.**

"Awwwww."

"It's true!" Percy exclaimed.

**I walked downstairs to the faculty offices. Most of them were dark and empty, but Mr. Brunner's door was ajar, light from his window stretching across the hallway floor. I was three steps from the door handle when I heard voices inside the office. Mr. Brunner asked a question. A voice that was definitely Grover's said "... Worried about Percy, sir. "**

I froze.

I'm not usually an eavesdropper,

"Wow! We're different as anyone can be! (AN You like plotting a garden. I like plotting to kill)" Hermes exclaimed not realizing that he was quoting a Dark Lord and his servant that allowed him to live on the back of his head.

**but I dare you to try not listening if you hear your best friend talking about you to an adult.  
>"<strong>That really is hard." Everyone had to agree.**  
>I inched closer.<strong>

**"... Alone this summer, " Grover was saying. "I mean, a Kindly One in the school! Now that we know for sure, and they know too-"  
>"<strong>Who's they?" Nico said oblivious

"Us?" The gods questioned in unison.

"Oh. Right." said Nico feeling stupid**  
>"We would only make matters worse by rushing him, " Mr. Brunner said. "We need the boy to mature more. "<br>"**Hahaha. Chiron is really optimistic. That will never happen." an anoynmous person exclaimed from the sky.

"Really weird voice? Really?" Percy said

(AN :D)**  
>"But he may not have time. The summer solstice dead-line- "<br>"**What?"**  
>"Will have to be resolved without him, Grover. Let him enjoy his ignorance while he still can. "<br>"**Why? Why did you have to interrupt him?" Nico voiced the one thing that everyone really wanted to know. **  
>"Sir, he saw her... . "<br>"His imagination, " Mr. Brunner insisted. "The Mist over the students and staff will be enough to convince him of that. "  
>"<strong>You so sure Chiron?" The voice well, voiced again.

**"Sir, I ... I can't fail in my duties again. " Grover's voice was choked with emotion. "You know what that would mean. "  
>"<strong>Again?" Hera said confused.

"It's a long story." the demigods said together after just one look at each other. **  
>"You haven't failed, Grover, " Mr. Brunner said kindly. "I should have seen her for what she was. Now let's just worry about<strong> **keeping Percy alive until next fall-"**

"Well, that seems like a great place to stop." Apollo managed to yawn out.

"Come on!"

"Well, this was a long chapter and I am tired. 8:30 pm really is late. I'm missing Wizards of Waverly Place, and I don't have a snack-"

_And then AJ (Starkid) popped out of no where with a package of Red Vines._

"Oh my gods thank you!" Apollo exclaimed extremely happy.


	5. Chapter 5

I have been inspired. (Thanks Giuliette!) I have also realized that I can throw in as many Team Starkid references as I want! I have officially entered writing mode! Starkid playing in the background, my keyboard lit up. I am ready! So, here we go! I am going to start writing... NOW!

Hmmmm... Whose POV now?/

OH!

Dionysus's POV (now THAT'S an idea!)

_I can't believe I have to waste all this time reading a book. I am a very busy person!_

"Alright, now that everyone is back, we have to continue with this book." Zeus said trying to keep his image of authority. (It wasn't working.)

"So, who is going to read now?" Athena asked.

Zeus sighed, looked around, and said "Dionysus. You will read."

I opened my mouth to argue, but decided that it wouldn't be a good idea.

So, I took the book and started to read.

**The mythology book dropped out of my hand and hit the floor with a thud.  
><strong>"You gotta learn how to spy! You don't drop anything! You don't say anything, you don't even breath loudly!" Hermes said exasperated.

"Sorry." Percy said sheepishly.**  
>Mr. Brunner went silent.<br>My heart hammering, I picked up the book and backed down the hall.**

**A shadow slid across the lighted glass of Brunner's office door, the shadow of something much taller than my wheelchair-bound teacher, holding something that looked suspiciously like an archer's bow.  
><strong>"Wow! They really are on edge! I wonder what's going on that made them so careless?" Demeter said worried.

**I opened the nearest door and slipped inside.**

**A few seconds later I heard a slow clop-clop-clop, like muffled wood blocks, then a sound like an animal snuffling right outside my door. A large, dark shape paused in front of the glass, then moved on.  
><strong>"You were so lucky!" Nico commented.

"How did Chiron not notice you were there. Something weird really is going on!" Thalia exclaimed.**  
>A bead of sweat trickled down my neck.<strong>

**Somewhere in the hallway, Mr. Brunner spoke. "Nothing, " he murmured. "My nerves haven't been right since the winter solstice. "  
><strong>"Someone tell us what happened then! That's the second time it was mentioned, just in this one conversation!" an unnamed person in the room screamed extremely annoyed and worried.

"Who was that?" Percy questioned.

"Me!" the voice said, "I was just going on a tour of the Empire State Building with my school, and I saw this weird 600th floor button in the elevator after everyone got off, so I stayed on, pushed the button, and here I am."

"Well. Time to get that fixed!" Hephaestus grumbled.

"I guess you can stay. We'll just use the Mist after so you won't remember anything." Hera dictated.

"So, we gonna continue with this supermegafoxyawesomehot story or not?" the girl said as she emerged from the shadow, wearing hot pink sunglasses and a t-shirt that said Keep Calm It's Gonna Be Totally Awesome. (AN and outfit I would die for!)

"Well, she doesn't seem dangerous, and that shirt is cool. So, Wine Dude, continue!" Hermes said smug.

I characteristically (AN I spelled it right! YES!) glared at him, and he visibly shrunk in his chair. The interesting girl sat down next to Hestia in the center.

And I read.

**"Mine neither, " Grover said. "But I could have sworn ... "  
><strong>

**"Go back to the dorm, " Mr. Brunner told him. "You've got a long day of exams tomorrow. "**

**"Don't remind me. "  
><strong>"Worst part of the job. The tests. The homework. The schoolwork. The teachers. The waking up in the morning. Ok. It is just a horrible job all around." Hermes said.

The girl giggled to herself.**  
>The lights went out in Mr. Brunner's office.<strong>

**I waited in the dark for what seemed like forever.  
>Finally, I slipped out into the hallway and made my way back up to the dorm.<strong>

**Grover was lying on his bed, studying his Latin exam notes like he'd been there all night.  
><strong>"But we know that he wasn't!" Nico said earning some very weird looks from the gods, demigods and random mortal.**  
>"Hey, " he said, bleary-eyed. "You going to be ready for this test?"<br>**"Of course not!" Thalia said with a grin**  
>I didn't answer.<strong>

**"You look awful. " He frowned. "Is everything okay?"  
><strong>"Yeah, he just heard everything you just said about him in grave danger and all that so I'm sure he's FINE!" Nico said obviously.

**"Just... Tired. "  
><strong>"Sure!"**  
>I turned so he couldn't read my expression, and started getting ready for bed.<strong>

**I didn't understand what I'd heard downstairs. I wanted to believe I'd imagined the whole thing.  
><strong>"Too bad I couldn't" Percy said depressed.

**But one thing was clear: Grover and Mr. Brunner were talking about me behind my back. They thought I was in some kind of danger.  
><strong>"No, they knew you were in a lot of danger!"**  
>The next afternoon, as I was leaving the three-hour Latin exam, my eyes swimming with all the Greek and Roman names I'd misspelled, Mr. Brunner called me back inside.<strong>

**For a moment, I was worried he'd found out about my eavesdropping**

"I wouldn't be surprised if that's what it was." Hermes said looking very disappointed with Percy.

**the night before, but that didn't seem to be the problem.  
><strong>"You really were lucky!"**  
>"Percy, " he said. "Don't be discouraged about leaving Yancy. It's ... It's for the best. "<br>**"What?"**  
>His tone was kind, but the words still embarrassed me. Even though he was speaking quietly, the other kids finishing the test could hear. Nancy Bobofit smirked at me and made sarcastic little kissing motions with her lips.<br>**"Of course, the little brat."**  
>I mumbled, "Okay, sir. "<strong>

**"I mean ... " Mr. Brunner wheeled his chair back and forth, like he wasn't sure what to say. "This isn't the right place for you. It was only a matter of time. "  
><strong>"Wow."**  
>My eyes stung.<strong>

**Here was my favorite teacher, in front of the class, telling me I couldn't handle it. After saying he believed in me all year, now he was telling me I was destined to get kicked out.  
>"<strong>Harsh.**"  
>"Right, " I said, trembling.<strong>

**"No, no, " Mr. Brunner said. "Oh, confound it all. What I'm trying to say ... You're not normal, Percy. That's nothing to be-"  
><strong>"Oh, perfect!"**  
>"Thanks, " I blurted. "Thanks a lot, sir, for reminding me.<strong>

**"Percy-"  
><strong>

**But I was already gone.  
><strong>"I don't even have a comment for here." Nico said concluding his mini commentary. (AN, yes, I finally told you who was saying the comments. You're welcome!)**  
>On the last day of the term, I shoved my clothes into my suitcase.<br>**"That's not a good way to pack." Thalia commented.

"I know" Percy said.

**The other guys were joking around, talking about their vacation plans. One of them was going on a hiking trip to Switzerland. Another was cruising the Caribbean for a month. They were juvenile delinquents, like me, but they were rich juvenile delinquents. Their daddies were executives, or ambassadors, or celebrities. I was a nobody, from a family of nobodies.  
><strong>Percy got many glares at that, but also some compassionate looks, he really thought he was a nobody.**  
>They asked me what I'd be doing this summer and I told them I was going back to the city.<br>**"Nice way to put it."**  
>What I didn't tell them was that I'd have to get a sum-mer job walking dogs or selling magazine subscriptions, and spend my free time worrying about where I'd go to school in the fall.<br>**"Awwww. Poor Peter." I cooed in a mocking undertone.

**"Oh, " one of the guys said. "That's cool. "**

**They went back to their conversation as if I'd never existed.  
><strong>"Well, that was nice of them."**  
>The only person I dreaded saying good-bye to was Grover, but as it turned out, I didn't have to. He'd booked a ticket to Manhattan on the same Greyhound as I had, so there we were, together again, heading into the city.<br>**"Wow. What a coincidence!"**  
>During the whole bus ride, Grover kept glancing nervously down the aisle, watching the other passengers. It occurred to me that he'd always acted nervous and fidgety when we left Yancy, as if he expected something bad to happen. Before, I'd always assumed he was worried about getting teased. But there was nobody to tease him on the Greyhound.<strong>

"You never know. Some people are weird."

"Am I done yet?!" I complained loudly.

"No!" Zeus snapped.

"Gods!"

**Finally I couldn't stand it anymore.**

"Neither can I!" I groaned. **  
>I said, "Looking for Kindly Ones?"<br>**"PERCY!" Thalia scolded.

"Sorry." Percy replied.**  
>Grover nearly jumped out of his seat. "Wha-what do you mean?"<strong>

**I confessed about eavesdropping on him and Mr. Brunner the night before the exam.  
><strong>"Then you confess? Wow. You are the worst eavesdropper ever!" Hermes said annoyed. **  
>Grover's eye twitched. "How much did you hear?"<br>**"Enough."**  
>"Oh ... Not much. What's the summer solstice dead-line?"<strong>

**He winced. "Look, Percy ... I was just worried for you, see? I mean, hallucinating about demon math teachers ... "  
><strong>

**"Grover-"**

**"And I was telling Mr. Brunner that maybe you were overstressed or something, because there was no such person as Mrs. Dodds, and ... "**

"Satyrs really can't lie. Just like how Percy can't spy!" Hermes glared at Percy.

**"Grover, you're a really, really bad liar. "  
><strong>"Duh!"**  
>His ears turned pink.<strong>

**From his shirt pocket, he fished out a grubby business card. "Just take this, okay? In case you need me this summer."**

**The card was in fancy script, which was murder on my dyslexic eyes, but I finally made out something like:  
><strong>"Do you think I would make it easy on those little brats?"**  
>Grover Underwood<strong>

**Keeper**

**Half-Blood Hill**

**Long Island, New York**

**(800) 009-0009  
><strong>(AN What would happen if one of us called that number. Hmmmm. Someone do that for me, and tell me what happens? Pleeeaaaasssseeee?)

**"What's Half-"**

**"Don't say it aloud!" he yelped. "That's my, um ... Sum-mer address. "  
><strong>"Why would he put it like that?"  
>"How else would he put it?"<p>

"I don't know!"**  
>My heart sank. Grover had a summer home. I'd never considered that his family might be as rich as the others at Yancy.<strong>

**"Okay, " I said glumly. "So, like, if I want to come visit your mansion. "**

**He nodded. "Or ... Or if you need me. "**

**"Why would I need you?"  
><strong>"WHOAH! PERCY!" Nico and Thalia screamed.

"I am soooo sorry!"**  
>It came out harsher than I meant it to.<br>**"It better have!"**  
>Grover blushed right down to his Adam's apple. "Look, Percy, the truth is, I-I kind of have to protect you. "<strong>

**I stared at him.**

**All year long, I'd gotten in fights, keeping bullies away from him. I'd lost sleep worrying that he'd get beaten up next year without me. **

"Awwwwwww! Was heard around the room.

**And here he was acting like he was the one who defended me.**

**"Grover, " I said, "what exactly are you protecting me from?"  
><strong>"Oh, just some monsters who want to kill you just for being alive." Nico said cheerfully.

"Gee, thanks Nico, ever the optimist!" Percy said.**  
>There was a huge grinding noise under our feet. Black smoke poured from the dashboard and the whole bus filled with a smell like rotten eggs. The driver cursed and limped the Greyhound over to the side of the highway.<strong>

**After a few minutes clanking around in the engine com-partment, the driver announced that we'd all have to get off. Grover and I filed outside with everybody else.**

**We were on a stretch of country road-no place you'd notice if you didn't break down there. On our side of the highway was nothing but maple trees and litter from pass-ing cars. On the other side, across four lanes of asphalt shimmering with afternoon heat, was an old-fashioned fruit stand.**  
>"Cool!"<p>

**The stuff on sale looked really good: heaping boxes of blood red cherries and apples, walnuts and apricots, jugs of cider in a claw-foot tub full of ice. There were no customers, just three old ladies sitting in rocking chairs in the shade of a maple tree, knitting the biggest pair of socks I'd ever seen.**

**I mean these socks were the size of sweaters, but they were clearly socks. The lady on the right knitted one of them. The lady on the left knitted the other. The lady in the middle held an enormous basket of electric-blue yarn.**

**All three women looked ancient, with pale faces wrinkled like fruit leather, silver hair tied back in white bandannas, bony arms sticking out of bleached cotton dresses.  
><strong>"OH NO!"**  
>The weirdest thing was, they seemed to be looking right at me.<br>**"Well, Percy's dead."

"Wait, no! He's alive."**  
>I looked over at Grover to say something about this and saw that the blood had drained from his face. His nose was twitching.<br>"Grover?" I said. "Hey, man-"**

**"Tell me they're not looking at you. They are, aren't they?"**

**"Yeah. Weird, huh? You think those socks would fit me?"**

**"Not funny, Percy. Not funny at all. "**

"Would be, but not there not then."

"Hey! I didn't know what was going on!"

**The old lady in the middle took out a huge pair of scissors-gold and silver, long-bladed, like shears. I heard Grover catch his breath.**

**"We're getting on the bus, " he told me. "Come on. "**

**"What?" I said. "It's a thousand degrees in there. "  
><strong>"It won't matter."**  
>"Come on!'" He pried open the door and climbed inside, but I stayed back.<strong>

**Across the road, the old ladies were still watching me. The middle one cut the yarn, and I swear I could hear that snip across four lanes of traffic. Her two friends balled up the electric-blue socks, leaving me wondering who they could possibly be for- Sasquatch or Godzilla.**

Silence echoed through the through the throne room. The mortal in company looked very confused but stayed quiet anyway.**  
>At the rear of the bus, the driver wrenched a big chunk of smoking metal out of the engine compartment. The bus shuddered, and the engine roared back to life.<strong>

**The passengers cheered.  
><strong>

**"Darn right!" yelled the driver. He slapped the bus with his hat. "Everybody back on board!"**

**Once we got going, I started feeling feverish, as if I'd caught the flu. **

Cue multiple stares at Percy, all wondering how he was alive.

**Grover didn't look much better. He was shivering and his teeth were chattering.**

**"Grover?"  
><strong>

**"Yeah?"  
><strong>

**"What are you not telling me?"**

"Everything. Grover has told you nothing. Nor has he told US anything!"

**He dabbed his forehead with his shirt sleeve. "Percy, what did you see back at the fruit stand?"  
><strong>

**"You mean the old ladies? What is it about them, man? They're not like ... Mrs. Dodds, are they?"**

"No. They are worse. In a way."

**His expression was hard to read, but I got the feeling that the fruit-stand ladies were something much, much worse than Mrs. Dodds. He said, "Just tell me what you saw. "**

**"The middle one took out her scissors, and she cut the yarn. "**

**He closed his eyes and made a gesture with his fingers that might've been crossing himself, but it wasn't. It was something else, something almost-older.  
><strong>"Very observant."

**He said, "You saw her snip the cord. "**

**"Yeah. So?" But even as I said it, I knew it was a big deal.  
><strong>"A very big deal. How did you survive?" Poseidon asked very worried.

"I have no response for that." no one but Percy replied. _(AN My computer wanted to change 'for' into for-Sasquatch. What does that even mean?)_**  
>"This is not happening, " Grover mumbled. He started chewing at his thumb. "I don't want this to be like the last time. "<strong>

**"What last time?"**

**"Always sixth grade. They never get past sixth. "**

**"Grover, " I said, because he was really starting to scare me. "What are you talking about?"**

"Grover has to calm down. We don't need to scare the demigods anymore then they already would be." Athena put in matter-of-factly.

**"Let me walk you home from the bus station. Promise me. "  
><strong>

**This seemed like a strange request to me, but I promised he could.**

"You don't wait for him do you?" Thalia asked annoyed

"I don't think so. I mean it was five years ago..." Percy replied cautiously

"PERCY!" Thalia exclaimed.

"_sorry._" Percy whispered.

**"Is this like a superstition or something?" I asked.**

"Ehh, kinda. Not really."

**No answer.**

**"Grover-that snipping of the yarn. Does that mean somebody is going to die?"  
><strong>*silence***  
>He looked at me mournfully, like he was already pick-ing the kind of flowers I'd like best on my coffin.<strong>

"He may have been." Percy said in a desperate attempt to lighten the mood.

"Alright. I think we all need a break after that. Besides that's the end of the chapter. We will return tomorrow." Zeus proclaimed in his _I'm king of the gods, you must do what I say_ kind of way.

_Closing Author's Note:_

_So. Who liked this chapter? You can thank my friend for this update. But don't think that just by emailing me, you can get an update out of me. Well, it would probably make me star a chapter and then the second email will make me finish it. So, yeah. Anyway! This Saturday, Starkid is doing a staged reading of AVP3D:AVPSY! I am excited for them to put it on youtube. Is anyone else excited? Hmmmmm? Hmmmmmm? Hmmmmmmm? And I am rambling, and my friend is _SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOO EXCITED  
>:)! If it is about this I am unsure. It could be about the DEMIGOD DIARES COMING OUT ON AUGUST 14TH! (Which is Joe Moses's birthday by the way. Starkid birthdays!)<p> 


	6. I'm Sooooooooooooo Sorry

So, guys. I am realllly sorry about this and I HATE to do this. But, I can't continue with this story. I dont even know how long it has been since I updated, but, school is insane. Much more than I ever thought. But, my school has gone from half a hallway with like four teachers, to an entire building with many, many teachers. All giving a ton of homework. This story I need to be able to sit down and look up the lines from the books and then add to them. To do that I need time to sit and do only that for a long while. My school sadly does not allow for that. I am going to attempt to continue with Trapped on the Solstice, but I have kind of drifted away from the Percy Jackson fandom. It may have really started when I was sadly disappointed in the Mark of Athena. Anyway, I am going to try and continue with TOS because I may be able to write it during like my Study, and if my friends will stop bugging me at lunch. But, this story will not be able to do that. If someone wants it, just message me. I'd be fine with that, and I reaaallllly feel bad about doing this. I am sorry oh amazing readers! (It's all my English teacher's fault!) What? I didn't say anything about how she hates me. What? No. You MUST be imagining things.

(Sorry.)


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